Wets On, Wets Off!

by Andrew Hayes, AHR Media

The Warrnambool Kart Club has hosted another successful round of the all-conquering DPE Kart Superstore Victorian Country Series at it’s Lake Gillear circuit over the weekend.

211 Entrants took to the undulating race track to contest round two of the series, with changing conditions keeping the pits very busy. Tyre changes on the grid were regular as competitors tried to predict the unruly weather. Heavy Rain right through to brilliant sunshine greeted competitors.

It’s dirty in the pack! Jordan Dudfield (55) gets sprayed with muck from Jobe Stewart (30) in X30 (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

The event was well run and the club had noticeably put a lot of time into preparing the facility.

  • class reports and top 3 below
  • full results on speedhive HERE
  • scroll down for more photos. Extra images on Darren’s Sportography Facebook HERE

VIC COMBINED MEDIUM (24 Entries)

Aidan Solomon dominated VCM in Cobden, and kicked off proceedings by taking pole position (35.016), edging out Tasmanian Sam Chettle. The heat races were won by young guns Max Fahey and Alex Baker, as the pace setting Solomon struck trouble. Fahey and Baker were prominent in the final, being joined at the front by Daniel Storer. The three raced hard for the duration, with Fahey leading the majority of the race. Storer snatched the lead on lap eleven, and then held his nerve to win, a great result for the returning speedway star. Fahey sealed a solid weekend with second ahead of Baker, Chettle and James Stewart.

1st Daniel Storer (PORT)
2nd Max Fahey (SWEST)
3rd Alex Baker (WIMM)

Vic Combined Medium podium (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

X30 LIGHT (25 Entries)

After almost bursting Cobden’s grid at the seams with a massive entry list, X30 backed up with a deep 25 kart grid for round two at Warrnambool. The National Champ Brad Jenner picked up exactly where he left off by grabbing pole (32.372), however the field was a whole lot closer this time, led by SA driver Jobe Stewart. Jacob Dowson won the opening heat after capitalizing on a rare Jenner error, before the champ made amends in heat two. Dowson got the better of the start of the final and led early, but he was overtaken on lap four by Jenner. Jenner went on to win, but Dowson never gave up, eventually settling for second. Adam Lindstrom and Stewart were in close proximity in the final, Lindstrom landing the final spot on the podium. Stewart home in fourth ahead of Sam Downing.

1st Brad Jenner (GKCV)
2nd Jacob Dowson (GKCSA)
3rd Adam Lindstrom (ELKC)

Brad Jenner (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

VIC COMBINED LIGHT (30 Entries)

The top three drivers in VCL qualifying were separated by less than a tenth and when clock stopped it was David Menzel (34.108) on pole but only just ahead of round one winner Gerry Westerveld and local star Jacob Dowlin. Terry Rankin made the most of the conditions to win the opening heat, whilst Westerveld pocketed the second heat. From there it was the Westerveld show as he eased away to win the final by over three seconds. Mitch Sutej escalated at the right time to claim second after not laying down a qualifying time, whilst Dowlin claimed the final podium spot on his home circuit. Rankin and fellow dirt track racer Luke Storer rounded out the top five.

1st Gerry Westerveld (ROCH)
2nd Mitch Sutej (WBOOL)
3rd Jacob Dowlin (WBOOL)

Gerry Westerveld (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA4 JUNIOR HEAVY (16 Entries)

Just like round one of the series, KA4JH was dominated by Zach Findlay. Findlay put down the pole time (37.728) to start and then proceeded to cement himself at the top of the time sheets in all events thereafter. Warrnambool’s Seth Burton was once again the challenger, finishing second in each event, along with Amos Orr holding down third. Orr was regularly challenged for the final spot on the podium, Ethan Briggs and Lachlan Sharpe rounding out the top five despite a promising run from Daniel Golightly.

1st Zach Findlay (GKCV)
2nd Seth Burton (WBOOL)
3rd Amos Orr (GKCV)

Zach Findlay (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 SENIOR LIGHT (17 Entries)

Another of the round one winners to put in a stirring performance was Joel MacPherson, as he laid down the pole time (33.460) in KA3SL. MacPherson split the heats with his green teammate Corey Herbertson, the two never far apart. Herbertson made the best of the start of the final, as Tasmanian Gemma Wyllie jumped briefly into second position. MacPherson quickly moved back to the front to challenge Herbertson. The ensuing pack of Wyllie, Bronson Boult and Nicholas Sacco fighting hard whilst waiting for an opportunity to arise. After a spectacular battle it was MacPherson prevailing over Herbertson, with Boult snaring third. Sacco led home Wyllie in fourth and fifth.

1st Joel MacPherson (OAK)
2nd Corey Herbertson (PORT)
3rd Bronson Boult (MGKC)

KA3 Senior Light podium (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

CADET 12 (16 Entries)

Joanne Ciconte turned in a stunning performance in Cadet 12 to claim pole position (38.452), just pipping round one winner Rusty Ponting. A last lap pass in heat one saw Aston Hill claim the honours, before Ponting took the spoils in heat two. The final started with some action as contenders Mathew Basso, Riley Harrison and Hill were all shuffled down the order. Ponting made the most of the situation, claiming a handy buffer that he held to take an all the way win. Portland’s Ewen Anderson also seized the opportunity by claiming a fine second, keeping Ponting honest all the way. Basso fought back hard to claim third ahead of Jake Ristell and Xavier Cain.



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1st Rusty Ponting (SWEST)
2nd Ewen Anderson (PORT)
3rd Mathew Basso (OAK)

Rusty Ponting leads Mathew Basso and the rest of the Cadet 12s (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 JUNIOR (18 Entries)

The top ten karts in KA3J were separated by less than 3 tenths in qualifying, and heading the order was SA’s Ben Holliday (33.659). Holliday’s run went pear shaped on the opening lap of heat one, as Jake Satalucia and Anthony Capobianco saluted in the respective heats. More chaos at the start of the final as contenders such as Capobianco, Aiva Anagnostiadis and Aleksander Stefanovich plummeted down the order. Santalucia made the best of the start as he and Matthew Domaschenz went at it for the duration. A stunning last lap crisscross move from Domaschenz had the crowd on their feet as he swept to a narrow victory over Santalucia. Leo Iannella added to his podium collection with third, ahead of pole man Holliday and the fast emerging Cadel Ambrose.

1st Matthew Domaschenz (PORT)
2nd Jake Santalucia (OAK)
3rd Leo Iannella (MGKC)

Mathew Domaschenz (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 SENIOR MEDIUM (13 Entries)

Qualifying in KA3SM was as tight as ever, with the top eight drivers posting times within 6 hundreths of a second. The margin was surprising, but not the man at the head of the queue, as the master Remo Luciani (34.335) again did the business. Both heats were won comfortably by Portland’s Todd Chambers despite being in very different conditions. Mitch Mackay emerged as Chambers’ biggest threat in the final, dragging Luciani into contention with him. Mackay hit the front on multiple occasions and it all came down to the last lap as Chambers finished his good earlier work off to win. Mackay was a gallant second ahead of Luciani. Chris Thomas capped off a good weekend with fourth after running as high as second in the heats, ahead of local lad Ryan Cook.

1st Todd Chambers (PORT)
2nd Mitch Mackay (SWEST)
3rd Remo Luciani (WIMM)

Todd Chambers (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

CADET 9 (10 Entries)

Cruz Kelly started his weekend is fine fashion by claiming pole position (39.505), but only by a tiny margin of 7 hundredths over Archie Bristow. Kelly and Tasmanian Chad Edwards were the heat winners, as conditions continuously changed. A strong performance from Kelly saw him lead from start to finish to win the final by just under 4 seconds. Bristow was right in the mix all weekend and second was a fine result for him. The final podium spot belonged to Jai George, who put in one of the drives of the weekend to move up from seventh and overtake many more experienced rivals. Edwards had to settle for fourth after his earlier victory, whilst the improving Cayden Humphrey rounded out the top five.

1st Cruz Kelly (GKCV)
2nd Archie Bristow (BALL)
3rd Jai George (OAK)

Cruz Kelly (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

VIC COMBINED MASTERS (23 Entries)

Phil Smith was another to pick up exactly where he left off in Cobden, by setting quick time (34.470) in qualifying. As was the case at Cobden, Ash Mitchell put up the most resistance to the Smith dominance, managing to split the heat wins with Smith after getting the upper hand at the end of the second heat. Smith got away well in the final as Mitchell slipped down the order. Looking to keep his winning ways going, Smith looked to have things under control, leading the first 12 laps. But Neil McAuley had other ideas, as he showed a brilliant turn of speed to catch and pass Smith to record a big win! Smith consolidated second place and a good haul of points. Phil Stradbrook and Peter Gigis went toe to toe for many laps in the final, but it was Stradbrook claiming third ahead of Gigis and John Page.

1st Neil McAuley (ELKC)
2nd Phil Smith (GKCV)
3rd Phil Stradbrook (BEN)

Neil McAuley (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA4 Junior Light (14 Entries)

KA4JL was another to have a super close qualifying result, as Lachlan Cutting snared pole position (37.098) over Josh Sacco. However, it was Angus Hall who was on fire in the heats, taking two handy wins. Sacco jumped to an early lead in the final as the Hall kart appeared to take a bit longer to come on. Sacco’s lead was one that he would not relinquish as he took a lights to flag victory. Cutting was a strong second with the fastest lap of the race, whilst Hall had to overcome Francisco Morales to seal his third place finish. Morales home in fourth, ahead of Hunter Salvatore.

1st Josh Sacco (ELKC)
2nd Lachlan Cutting (OAK)
3rd Angus Hall (OAK)

KA4 Junior Light podium (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

TAG 125 HEAVY (8 Entries)

Jayden Wallis added some spice to Tag Heavy after a long absence from VCS, stepping straight in to grab top spot (33.552) in qualifying. Wallis was the man to beat in the opening heat, whilst Glenn Croxford took the honours in the second heat on a drying track. Croxford led the final early as Wallis and Scott King did battle for second and third. Eventually Wallis shook off King and hunted Croxford for the win, the pass coming just before the half way mark of the final. Wallis the winner, Croxford impressive in second ahead of perennial front runner King in third. Nik Schmidt and Trent Harrison had some ups and downs on their way to rounding out the top five.

1st Jayden Wallis (ELKC)
2nd Glenn Croxford (SWEST)
3rd Scott King (PORT)

Jayden Wallis (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

The DPE Kart Superstore Victorian Country Series is set to continue on May 22/23 at the Portland Kart Club.

Thankyou to the following Series Sponsors:

  • DPE KART SUPERSTORE
  • REMO RACING / IAME
  • DUNLOP KARTSPORT
  • ALLSTAR GRAPHICS / 365 APPAREL CO
  • KFC
  • TONYKART AUSTRALIA / BARON ENGINE DEVELOPMENTS
  • PATRIZICORSE / VORTEX ENGINES / BRIDGESTONE KART AUSTRALIA
  • MELBOURNE KART CENTRE
  • CHAMBERS PORTABLE LINE BORING
  • AHR MEDIA
  • DARREN’S SPORTOGRAPHY
  • PRO KARTING
  • LS DESIGN
  • BENDIGO BANK



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